Critical letter actually a compliment

Written by Bob woelk Tuesday, 10 August 2010 15:43

As a teacher, part of my job is to critique the work of my students in an effort to make them better writers. Occasionally, my criticism will rankle a pupil to the point where he or she will feel compelled to “strike back” at me in the form of a letter. It is nearly always anonymous, often sarcastic and generally takes the form of a personal assault. I received just such a letter last month.

My first reaction to the missive, which listed Kenny Rogers as the author and displayed 500 E. Grand (the high school) as the return address, was to become defensive and angry.

Since I assumed the note was not actually from Kenny (how cool would that be, especially since he is too old to have been one of my students?), I could have easily...

Read more: Critical letter actually a compliment

Europe trip was scenic, enlightening

Written by Bob Woelk Tuesday, 13 July 2010 17:39

For the few days leading up to a planned trip to England, Wales and Ireland, my wife and I had been paying really close attention to the Weather Channel. After all, the last time we took such a trip to Europe two years ago, a rogue thunderstorm over Dallas airspace cost us a day in Paris. We did not want history to repeat itself.

As it turned out, despite an itinerary that routed us this time through Chicago, weather nearly ruined our first day once again.

As we arrived at our friendly Mid-Continent airport in Wichita more than 90 minutes ahead of our scheduled boarding time, a member of our group who had arrived extra early emerged from the terminal building to inform us our flight had been pushed back a whopping five...

Read more: Europe trip was scenic, enlightening

Enough left for one pop quiz

Written by Bob Woelk Tuesday, 08 June 2010 17:41

My school year has ended, and I still have one more multiple-choice test in me. I don’t have students, but I do apparently have at least some readers. So, here’s the quiz.

1. The financial troubles some European countries are having should worry us because: (a) our stock market seems to be directly affected by what Greeks urn…or…earn; (b) their stocks tumbled when we had economic issues last year, so turnabout is fair play; (c) the price of the Euro has dropped, meaning Americans will vacation overseas instead of in Florida.

2. Some pickup truck owners still put Confederate flag tags on the fronts of their vehicles because: (a) they are meant to honor the sacrifices of Southerners who died in the Civil War; (b) they believe...

Read more: Enough left for one pop quiz

And they shall know us by our trash

Written by Bob Woelk Tuesday, 11 May 2010 19:17

I have heard it said that one can tell a whole lot about people by studying their trash. If that’s the case, the three boys from Hillsboro High School’s Tech­nology Student Association who walked a two-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 56 Saturday morning received a great education.

Chapter adviser Creigh Bell and I supervised the spring cleanup. He took one young man to cover one mile near Lehigh. I took the other two for a walk along the ditches of a different mile, starting west and then coming back east over the same 5,280 feet.

It’s not the first time we’ve made this trek. In fact, this hike marked the third time this school year. I have been along for all three, but I don’t remember encountering anything close to the...

Read more: And they shall know us by our trash